​How to Defend Good Ideas from Bad Arguments: Disarming Idiots (Without Becoming One) - Monica Forman (MA)

We have all been there. You are sitting in a meeting (or a family dinner), and you pitch an idea. It is solid. It is backed by data. It makes perfect sense.

And then, in seconds, it is assassinated. Not by a better fact, but by a logical fallacy, a distraction, or a fear-driven "what-if" that has nothing to do with reality. Suddenly, the conversation is derailed, the idea is dead, and the loudest voice in the room has won.

Why do bad arguments so often defeat good ideas? And what are the mechanics behind keeping a discussion on track?

After her sold-out debut on Toxic Rhetoric, competitive debater Monica Forman (MA) returns to the Think & Drink stage to dissect the art of persuasion.

This talk unpacks the six most common ways discussions get hijacked - and the specific techniques required to shut them down. Drawing on the high-pressure strategies of competitive debate, we examine how to spot a rhetorical trap, how to respond with "quiet authority" rather than frustration, and how to steer a chaotic conversation back to substance with surgical precision.

Come for the verbal judo and discover how to ensure that the next time reason leaves the room, you are the one bringing it back.

About the speaker

Monica Forman is a renowned debate coach, lecturer in rhetoric and debate, and an expert in persuasive communication, with over 14 years of experience helping professionals articulate complex ideas with precision and influence.

An elite debater herself, she was ranked the 6th best speaker in the world and 4th best speaker in Europe, and served as the Chief Adjudicator of the European University Debate Championship 2020. She combines an academic background—holding an MA in the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas and a BA in Sociology-Anthropology and General Studies, both earned with high honors—with proven debate-based methodology.

Monica trains a diverse clientele, including founders, executives, professionals, and world-champion debaters, offering practical tools in strategic storytelling, high-stakes presentations, and advanced argumentation training across professional, personal, and public settings.

Doors open at 19:30 – Arrive early, grab a seat, and settle in.

Talk starts at 20:00 and runs until around 21:30.

Price includes light drinks.

Stick around afterward - good conversations don’t have closing times.